


The day when he wasn't the best in the world

by catharticallysarcastic



Category: Football RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship/Love, Humor, Jealousy, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8680624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catharticallysarcastic/pseuds/catharticallysarcastic
Summary: This is a story about Cristiano and Hayley (OC) who is he's the nanny of Ninho for over 5 years now. He always saw her as a cute kid but time passes and one day when he wants to surprise her, he's the one ending up in slight shock.
I suck at summaries so sorry...





	1. The day when he wasn't the best in the world

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is a Cristiano Ronaldo fanfic. Actually, it’s an existing story of mine that I transformed into a football fanfic so it’d fit more. I worked hard on it so I really hope you’re going to enjoy it if you read it. Depending on how much time I have, whether you like it or not, or if I get any feedback at all, there might be a part 2.
> 
> Special thanks to biggestmoraticablog on tumblr for reading it. I really am so grateful for your help xoxo
> 
> I apologize for the mistakes, typos etc.
> 
> If you have the time, please leave feedback, I'd appreciate it. Thank you for reading :)

The sun was coming up slowly, bathed the balcony in the most beautiful shades of orange and golden in the morning haze, making the night lights of Vegas look like sad little copycats of the real deal. Hayley sighed contently as she stuffed some waffle into her mouth; it was the very first day in the last 5 years that she got a day off. She planned to use it wisely; the plan was to do nothing, literally nothing at all, nada because she hadn't gotten a chance to do that in forever. Did she love her job? Of course she did; being the nanny of the most adorable kid on the planet wasn't even really a job but it was nice to have some time for herself. 24 hours of sweet idleness.

“Good, you're awake.” Her boss, the most famous athlete on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro walked into her room, already dressed like he was coming off from a catwalk in Milan. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd wore something other than jeans and top. It wasn't something she minded much though. Hayley was a practical girl, and spending the biggest part of your life running a household and taking care of a kid was not exactly in favour of cocktail dresses.

“So it seems,” she said before she poured an outrageous amount of maple syrup over the rest of her waffle and took a huge chunk of it only to mess with him.

“You really should pay more attention to your health.” He shook his head with an exaggarated sigh before rolling his eyes as she put the whole thing into her mouth. Food was a constant subject of bickering between them. He was the type of person who used scientifical methods when approaching the question of what he put into his system, meanwhile Hayley was a hedonist and ate whatever she liked, whenever she liked as long as she enjoyed it.

“Sure thing, boss,” she mumbled with her mouth full, trying to put on the most serious face she could.

“Dress up, we're going out,” Ronaldo said with a wave and turned on his heels to leave. Haley frowned, a pout appeared on her face. This was her day, her day to do nothing, her day that she sure as hell deserved after all these years.

“I'm sorry but this is my day out,” she called after him, annoyed with how he thought that he could just drag her away from her vacation with a wave on the top of it. Ninho'd already gone to Bali with the rest of the family. They'd agreed it was alright for her to spend a day in Vegas before she'd follow them.

“I have a surprise for you.” He smiled back at her but she didn't buy it. Surprise or not she had a plan that certainly did not include even dressing up. “So dress up, we're going out in 10.”

“Okay, does this surprise include a full spa treatment? Because if not, I don't want it.” She wrinkled her nose, and crossed her arms over her chest. He was not her boss today. The truth was he hadn't acted like an employer for years but that wasn't really surprising, considering they'd been living together almost since the born of his son.

“For God' sake, dress up, Hayley. We have to be there on time.” He rolled his eyes before he opened the door only to be stopped by her.

“Fine,” she growled, let her head fall back. “What do I wear? Casual, fancy, sporty?”

“Whatever you like, just drop baby Chewie,” he called back over his shoulder before he stepped out to the hall and left her alone again. Hayley looked at her pj top and rolled her eyes, there was nothing wrong with baby Chewie in her opinion.

“So much for idleness,” she mumbled to herself before she walked into the room to change. The only problem was that most of her clothes were in the laundry, all she had was a La Undecima t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. “Well, he did say it didn't matter what I wore,” she shrugged and quickly put the only available items on before swirling her hair around her fingers and tying it into a messy bun on the top of her head.

“Good morning, chica,” Ricky greeted her from the front seat when she hopped into the car.

“Good for who?” She was grumpy for more than one reason. Cristiano knew she couldn't stand surprises, he also ruined her day of freedom with dragging her out into the Vegas heat. If he wanted a shopping trip, she might harm him.

“Wow, someone's in a bright mood,” Goncalo noted as he started the car up.

“Let's just get over with whatever terrific surprise you have for me so I can go back to my plan and do nothing.”

“I don't get why you aren't at least a little bit excited,” Cristiano grumbled besides her.

“Oh, I don't know, man... It isn't like your surprises tend to turn into catastrophies,” she snorted, remembering all the time when her boss tried to surprise her, truth was he surely always managed. “I mean, remember the last time?”

“That was a misunderstanding, okay? A one time thing!” He tried to explain but the memories were too deep. He really screwed her birthday up.

“My birthday present was your girlfriend waiting for me naked in my bed!” She shrieked, tried her best to look more pissed than amused. “Don't get me wrong, I might have even considered a trip to the other side if only she didn't try to scratch my eyes out while screaming what a whore I was for sleeping with you, and thinking that she'd agree to a threesome.” The idea itself was ridiculous of course. Cristiano never saw her more than the best nanny and one of his best friends.

“Would you have really considered her?” Ricky grinned sheepishly at her, and she smacked the back of his head, laughing.

“A one time misunderstanding.” Cristiano repeated with a shrug.

“What about the cake that blew into my face?” Hayley turned to him, raising an eyebrow. The case was that she shared her birthday with Rio Ferdinand and they accidently swapped their cakes so she ended up with Rio's funny exploding one.

“You found that funny.” Cristiano grinned and she rolled her eyes. “Don't even try to deny it.”

“The cake was delicious, you know I can't stay pissed when goodies are involved,” she shrugged, trying to supress her laughter.

“Look, we're here,” Goncalo said, nodded to a building, and Hayley's breath was caught in her throat.

“Holy fuck!” She cursed loudly as she slowly took in the sight in front of her. She knew that building, she knew who was in that building.

“You know I really hate when you curse, not very ladylike,” Cristiano chuckled next to her but she barely heard what he said.

“Why the hell didn't you tell me where we were going?” She smacked him hard on the shoulder. Her gaze fell on her reflection in the rearview and she made a face. This was unacceptable.

“Because then it wouldn't have been a surprise?” He gave her a slightly shocked look.

“I can't go in there looking like a soccer mommy, you idiot, all of you are crazy!” She waved around with her hands before pointed at herself in horror. How could they do this to her?

“I think you look fine,” Cristiano said, clearly not getting what her problem was. From all the people in the world, he should have understood how incredibly important it was how you present yourself. Hayley just couldn't wrap her mind around what on Earth they were thinking not telling her that this was going to be the most beautiful day of her life.

“Fine?” She glared at him, her voice shaking. “Fine? How would you feel if I were to tell you your dribbles were fine?”

“My dribbles are perfect.” Ronaldo frowned at her.

“Exactly! Perfect! Freaking perfect!” She motioned around dramatically. “When I meet one of the most important man in my life, I'm going to be fucking perfect just like your dribbles!” She glared at him before she climbed half way over the seat to reach into the trunk. “Where the hell is the spare shirt you always have on you?” She'd given one to him to carry around all the time after the incident when Ninho'd poured an entire glass of strawberry juice over his shirt at one of the events.

“I thought you'd be more thankful...” Cristiano scratched the back of his neck, exchanging confused looks with his friends.

“Got it!” She fell back to her seat with a victorious look on her face, fist bumping the air triumphantly with the shirt in her hand.

“Wow, hey... Jesus...” The three men looked away quickly when she pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving herself in only a sport bra.

“God, don't be babies, not like you don't see women in way less on the beach.” She rolled her eyes. Men could be so overdramatic about underwear.

“What exactly are you doing?” Ricky asked, still avoiding to look at her.

“I'm making myself presentable,” she huffed before she ripped the sleeves of the black shirt off.

“What the...?” Cristiano stared at her in horror when his prescious Armani shirt was harmed.

“If you say a single word, you're going to regret it.” Hayley narrowed her eyes at him before she tied the shirt under her breasts. She pulled the ellastic off and let her long dark hair fall free. Hayley throw her head forwards and used her fingers to get the wayward locks into some kind of order, or into an even more of a mess, both style worked with the wavy style for her. “I need a pair of heels.”

“What?” Ronaldo watched her as if she was having a melt down. Actually, all of them watched her make over like she completely lost it but she couldn't care less.

“Okay...” She took a deep breath and pulled her best explaining voice that she used around Ninho. “I know this will come as a shock for all of you but I am a woman. And I might be a feminist but I'm not one of those who think doing everything to bring the best out of myself is equal with downgrading myself as a woman. So I need heels. High heels because I want my legs to look as long as the distance between this planet and the moon.”

“But your legs are...”

“I want them to be perfect, not fine! And I'm short so I need freaking high heels!” She cut him off, raising her voice. “Just please, this is important to me, okay?”

“I'll get you shoes, saw a shop on the other side of the road,” Ricky laughed and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Hayley grinned at him and patted a kiss on his cheek before he started out for her shoes. “Now...” She mumbled and reached into her Mary Poppins bag, tried to find her makeup bag.

“I've always been terrified of that bag...” Goncalo watched half of her arm disappearing with slight horror on his face.

“She pulled an umbrella out of it one time, a big one.” Cristiano nodded in agreement with a wary expression on his face.

“Babies,” she laughed and pulled her makeup bag out. She had nothing glamorous, just something to make her dark eyes pop and give her face a bit of an extra glow. In less than five minutes she had the eyeliner on, and applied the fire red lipstick that she hadn't used in forever. As she looked at herself in the mirror even she was surprised how oddly familiar and strange she looked at the same time.

“Shoes.” Ricky got into the car, holding a pair of simple black heels, his jaw dropped, mouth hanging open when he laid eyes on her. “Wow...”

“Too much?” She asked, moved her gaze between the three man who were staring at her like she was an alien.

“Definitely.-No.” Cristiano and the two other man stated at the same time.

“Which one now? Definitely or no?” She raised an eyebrow, switching her sneakers to the new ones.

“It's too much.” Cristiano glared at the other two men. “Look at you, this... What is that red lipstick? And the smokey eyes... And that shirt... Just in general... It's too much.”

She bit her lip and counted to ten. She wasn't going to lose it on him now. Hayley looked into the rearview one more time and smiled to herself. Back in time, this was her signature look, smokey eyes and red lips. Then she became a nanny and... And she stopped having a life. She shook her head, reminded herself this wasn't the time to think about that. Tomorrow maybe but definitely not today.

“I think I look drop dead gorgeous so I'm going in,” she stated, and without waiting for an answer got out of the car.

“You're hot as hell. But you know, it's a huge change, he's just not used to it.” Ricky smiled at her after he got out of the car. Of course she was aware that her looking more of a woman than the teen baby sitter from next door could be shocking but despite of her teen looks she was 24, and could pull off being damn sexy if she actually tried.

“Right now, I don't care how he feels.” She shrugged as she glanced over her shoulder and saw her boss still pouting like a child. Whatever, he wanted to surprise her so she sure as hell going to enjoy this.

They walked into the gym and her legs started shaking, her palms sweat. She stopped abruptly when the man himself showed up and walked towards them. Just don't faint, Hayley, you got this.

The guys shook hands, Cristiano introduced Goncalo and Ricky and then it was her turn.

“And who's the pretty lady here?” Was he talking about her? He must have been because he was looking at her with a smile on his face. Don't forget to breath, she reminded herself.

“Hayley Carrighan, my son's nanny.” Cristiano motioned to her.

“Conor McGregor.” He extended his hand to her and she froze. She tried to open her mouth but no voice came out of it, she was just gaping like a fish. “Hi?”

“What's wrong with her?” Ronaldo mumbled to Ricky, watching the scene dumbstrucked and slightly annoyed.

“I think she's starstrucked.” Ricky laughed quietly. “Hayles, you should say something.” He nudged her arm lightly.

“Oh my God, yes, I'm so very sorry... This has literally never happened with me before, this is so very embarassing,” she rambled on, her face flamed up.

“She didn't even act like this when she met Zidane,” Cristiano grumbled to Ricky, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the scene with narrowed eyes.

“Because Zidane wasn't her favourite person on the planet?” Ricky laughed but Cristiano didn't join him. He didn't like what he saw at all. That goofy smile she wore was almost painful to see and how her eyes shone like she laid eyes on God himself... The entire thing was disturbing.

“It's okay, happens with the best of us,” Conor laughed and shook her hand.

“It's just... God... You're the best in the world,” she breathed with a blinding smile on her face and Cristiano cringed. She'd never told that to him, at least not in that way, not with so much awe in her voice, not like she was about to swoon from his greatness.

The pair talked a bit, mostly Hayley rambling on and on about how she'd been an MMA fan since she was a toddler, and watched the events with her dad and such stuff while Ronaldo just watched them, watched them and the feeling in the pit of his stomach became tighter and tighter.

“What the hell is she doing?” He asked annoyed when Hayley threw her hair over her shoulder. It was something that he'd never seen her doing before. Of course, most of the times her hair was up so she couldn't have even if she wanted to.

“I think she likes him and she's trying to get her pheromones into the air around him, it's natural instinct,” Goncalo answered with a completely serious face. “What? I saw it on National Geographic last night.” He shrugged when Ricky and Cristiano stared at him questioningly.

“What's your problem?” Ricky asked his friend when the annoyed look from his face didn't seem to disappear.

“Nothing.” Ronaldo shrugged, never taking his eyes off from the pair. They were deep in the conversation about Conor's various matches, which one Hayley loved the most, how she stayed awake entire nights just to see him.

“Something bothers you and you aren't hiding it too well. Are you jealous or what?” Ricky laughed, though, he was wondering for a moment if finally the moment arrived and his best friend saw the light. The truth was everyone in the family and among the friends saw Hayley and Cristiano were perfect for each other except for them of course. They both seem to be completely oblivious to such small details like how they lived like a couple, minus sex, raised a child together, spent 90% of their lives together.

“Don't be ridiculous,” he huffed in response. “It's Hayley we're talking about.” Hayley was a nice girl, almost like a mother to his son. She'd been there through the best and worst moments in his life in the last couple of years. Her faith never wavered in him. She was one of his closest friends. But that was it, they were friends. He'd never be jealous of her. He always saw her as a kid, she'd only been 19 when he'd hired her. Though, that image of her being just a cute kid seemed to get damaged as he watched her being more than just feminin but actually acting like a woman while talking to the other man.

“Where are you going?” Ricky asked warily as he started towards the couple but he ignored his friend.

“I'm sorry to interrupt but we're kind of in a hurry,” Cristiano stepped to them. It wasn't a cool thing to do but he didn't like how this man looked at Hayley, and certainly didn't like how Hayley acted like an airheaded fangirl.

“Oh, sure, let's do it, man,” Conor winked at Hayley who almost turned into a puddle before he turned towards the octagon so they could take photos as agreed previously and chat some more if there was time.

Once the photos were done they stopped for a few more words. All Cristiano wanted was get as far from this place and man as possible. He'd surely regretted at least a thousand times taking Hayley there.

“Hey, my friend is celebrating his birthday tonight,” Conor said, his words mainly directed at Hayley. “Maybe you could visit? It's gonna be in this nightclub...”

“Yes,” Hayley nodded without hesitation.

“Great, we could hang out a bit, get to know each other more,” the man flashed her a knee weakening smile and she almost melted.

“That would be awesome,” she grinned excited.

“Unfortunately, we're leaving early tomorrow so I don't think we can go,” Cristiano interrupted. He wasn't going to let her spend more time with this man than necessary. Conor's intentions were blindingly obvious, and it was sure as hell Cristiano wouldn't let anything happen with Hayley. It'd be a one night stand, and she'd be hurt and then they'd all blame him for even introducing her to the fighter. He merely wanted to protect her.

“You can go ahead, I'll go with a normal plane if you don't wanna wait for me,” Hayley explained and he frowned at her. What the hell?

“We could go, wouldn't be much of a hassle,” Ricky tried to give him a meaningful look and he rolled his eyes. They arrived together, they'd leave together as well. He certainly wouldn't let Hayley go alone to a nightclub.

“Okay, we'll be there.” He shook Conor's hand with a grimace on his face, and considered the meeting over. He'd have a few words with Hayley about the crazy fangirl act once they were back in the hotel.


	2. Part 2

“Oh my God, this was seriously the best present you ever came up with, boss!” Hayley squealed with a huge grin on her face as they sat into the car. Conor McGregor was like a god for her, unearthly. She's been a fan of all kinds of contact sports ever since she knew her mind. She'd used to watch all the big fights with her dad and once she'd moved to Europe she was willing to stay up all night in order to not miss anything important.  
“You realize he wants only one thing from you, right?” Cristiano looked at her with clear annoyance all over his face.  
“You mean he wants to get into my pants?” She looked at him with a devilish smile around her lips.  
“Yes, I'm glad you realize this,” he groaned irritated.  
“Good, I want him to,” she laughed out, and pushed her sunglasses on her nose.  
“What?” He turned towards her with his entire body. Ricky and Goncalo exchanged a look as they both sighed.  
“What?” She laughed again. “Do you know what was the last time I was with a man?”  
“No...” He replied slowly after a few moments of thinking.  
“Exactly! Me neither,” she huffed. Truth was her love life was non existing, nothing, nada. She had no time or energy to date. Also, despite of her wanting to avoid spotlight, her face was almost as much of the topic of social media as Cristiano's. People shipped her with her boss what was of course nonsense but that also made finding a man a little bit difficult. Last time when Claudia, Ricky's girlfriend had set her up for a blind date about a year ago, the guy'd almost run off in the first minute, thinking she was the secret girlfriend of Cristiano Ronaldo.  
“Oh, so what? Now you're just going to... Sleep with the first man who shows a little bit of interest in you?” It was clear he struggled not to say anything more offensive than that and Hayley glared at him from behind her glasses.  
“No, my friend, not the first whoever but the golden medalist on my 'one night no hoe list'.” Conor McGregor wasn't just a random dude. He was god himself!  
“One night what?” Cristiano stared at her dumbfounded.  
“The top ten she can sleep with, without feeling bad about herself next morning,” Ricky explained from the front seat. Hayley wasn't the one night stand kind of girl but there were a few men in the world, she knew for sure she wouldn't mind only one night with.  
“Who else is on that list?” Ronaldo asked shocked, vowing silently he'd never let her meet any of those men after this. The whole idea was nonsense.  
“Let's see... Conor is number one with Jason Momoa, Charlie Hunnam, Taylor Kitsch...” The list went on, and whilst Ronaldo was aware the likeliness of her meeting anyone else other than Conor, he got angrier and angrier.  
“Unbelievable...” He muttered under his breath.  
“What? You know, easy for you. You have all those one night stands hoes all the time. A girl needs health care too, just saying. Gender equality, baby,” she grinned and raised her hand for a high five with Ricky who moved his gaze between them, hesitating as he saw Cristiano didn't find it as funny as Hayley. “Come on man, I'm the one feeding you 80% of the year.”  
“She's right,” Ricky shrugged apologetically and met her hand.  
“Would I be on that list if I weren't your boss?” Ronaldo asked before he could stop himself. It was an unreasonable question as it didn't matter. He never saw her as a woman, as a potentional love interest, she was just Hayley, his Hayley, one of the only person who was always there by his side, through thick and thin, his solid ground who he could go home to, his best friend but not someone he'd have shared his bed with.  
“Don't be ridiculuos, dude, you're too pretty for me,” she wrinkled her nose. She had a type, and her boss was not that. As most girls, Hayley admired bad boys and the wild looks, Cristiano wouldn't have made it to the list, no matter what, he was simply too beautiful. “Oh my God, I have to go shopping! I have nothing to wear!” She continued before he could react to the first shock of him not making it to her list, and pushed her into shock two; he'd never thought he'd ever hear those words from her.  
“I seriously don't think this whole party would be a good idea,” he growled as Goncalo parked the car in the hotel's parking lot.  
“I told you, you don't have to come. You can go with the jet, I'm fine with commercial flights,” she shrugged as she got out of the car.  
“And I told you that if you go, I'll go too,” he rolled his eyes. “And I'm going to that shopping trip with you.”  
“Oh, no you don't,” she stated firmly. “After the scene you made about some makeup on my face, that's just not happening.”  
“Go with her, don't let her buy anything... cheap looking,” he told quietly to Ricky.  
“I don't think...” Ricky tried to reason but the look on his friend's face said there was no way to get out of this. “I'll go, okay?” He asked Hayley. She moved her eyes between the two men and nodded with a roll of her eyes.  
“Whatever,” she started away with pouty steps as Cristiano liked calling her annoyed stomping.

Ronaldo was pacing up and down in Hayley's room. They've been gone for hours. What the hell took so long? Oh, yes, according to Ricky she didn't only go and buy a dress but also shoes, and visited a hairdresser, got her nails done, and there were words about a full on pro make up. She acted like she was seriously meeting god himself. Finally, he heard the door cracking and saw Hayley enter, if that was Hayley. He felt hot and cold at the same time as he laid eyes on her. When did she grow up like this? She wore a fire red dress, spangles covering every inch, so deeply cut in the front it was hard not to stare at her breasts, and so short it barely covered anything with a pair of shiney black high heels. Her hair was down, in wavy looks and her eyes... The make up she had on made her eyes look so dark as if they were almost black.  
“What do you think?” She grinned and made a small circle around herself, only to make him realize the dress wasn't only cut at the front but at the back as well. Ricky stood behind her, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, waiting for his reaction.  
“You are not going out like that,” he choked out after a few moments. There was just no way he'd let anyone see her like that, over his dead body.  
“Come again?” Hayley frowned at him, crossed her arms over her chest, the familiar glare she had when she was pissed slowly appeared between her brows.  
“I said you aren't going anywhere like that,” he answered, mirroring her moves.   
“Oh, really?” She made a step towards him, her hands tightening into fists.  
“Yes, really,” he stated, making a step towards her.  
“And why is that, Ronaldo?” She glared, taking another step towards him.  
“Because, Hayley, I said so,” he growned in a low voice, closing in the distance between them. “And I'm your boss.” There was a moment of tensed silence. Hayley inhaled deeply so she wouldn't start screaming. She couldn't imagine what got into him. Maybe he didn't like the idea someone related to him being seen with another man but he'd have to suck it up.  
“No, you are not, not today,” she raised her head and turned on her heels, walked out of the room without a pause.  
“Well played,” Ricky sighed, and shook his head.  
“Shut up,” Cristiano glared at his friend. “We're going with her,” he said after a few moments.  
“As if that was a question,” Ricky nodded. This was going to end badly, even worse than it was, he thought to himself before he called Goncalo.


	3. Chapter 3

Ricky sat alone on the jet. After the night from hell he believed it'd have been a foolish thing to try and chat with anyone. Ronaldo sat at the other end of the plane with his headphones on, staring out of the window. Hayley'd headed straight to the tiny bedroom as soon as she got the airport. The tension between the two was thick as smoke. He leant back in his chair and tried to relax. However, he couldn't stop his mind working, he needed to do something. It bothered him to no end how both of his friends acted, what they'd done was foolish and nonsense. He replayed the night over and over again.   
Hayley'd already been at the angry side of things after Ronaldo'd decided to use the boss card on her. He'd been the other man's employee for over a decade and never once he'd seen Ronaldo being so insensitive or rude. Admittedly, Hayley must have caught him offside when it turned out there was a woman somewhere in that tomboy but that was no explanation. The evening only got worse when they got to the club. 

FLASHBACK

The club was packed to the point they could barely make their way to the VIP box where Conor was already waiting for them. Ricky wasn't certain if he should watch out for Hayley kicking their boss or their boss starting a fight with the most notorious MMA fighter.  
“Damn girl, you look fine,” Conor grinned at Hayley who spinned around to show off all the outrageously tiny parts of her dress. She wore a huge grin on her face, the exact opposite of Ronaldo's constant frown.  
“Ah, just throw something on,” Hayley laughed with a wave of her hand, and whilst the music was too loud to hear anything well, Ricky could swear he heard Cristiano growling next to him.  
“What can I get you?” Conor motioned for them to sit but Hayley already started swaying with the music and she didn't look like someone who planned to spend the night sitting around.  
“Tequila!” She grinned as she moved in rhythm with the pumping music.  
“I don't think that's a good idea,” Ronaldo told her with narrowed eyes. He didn't like people getting wasted around him. Hayley was aware that too but apperantly she could care less about his feelings that evening. It seemed as if she decided to do all the things that could possibly anger the man, or finally, she decided to have one night, one single night when she didn't act like anyone's conscious, anyone's mother but her age, Ricky thought to himself.  
“I don't think I asked your permission,” she snapped back with the sweetest smile on her face and Ricky felt anxious to his toes. This night was going to end badly.   
“Hayley?” A blonde woman around Hayley's age called out. The bodyguards stopped her from getting into the VIP box as she was waving like crazy. Hayley turned there and she squealed.  
“Oh my God, oh my God! Kristen! Would you mind?” She asked Conor who nodded in approval so the bodyguards would let Kristen to the box.   
“What on Earth are you doing here? I thought you were in Europe!” Kristen asked as they hugged each other.  
“I'm on vacation, kind of,” Hayley explained as they hopped down.  
“Gosh, been so long.” The other woman grinned at her when the tray of tequila arrived.  
“I'm so rude,” Hayley rolled her eyes as she took two shots, one for her friend, one for herself. “This is Conor,” she motioned to the fighter. “Be nice to him, we can be here because of him.”  
“Oh, wow, yeah, I think I know you,” Kristen laughed as they shook hand. “Nice to meet you.”  
“The pleasure is all mine,” Conor winked at her playfully and the blonde blushed.  
“That's Ricky, my friend,” Ricky greated the woman. He could recall seeing some photos of Hayley and Kristen one time. They were like sisters back in high school as far as he could tell. “And that's my boss, Ronaldo.” Hayley said in a by the way manner. Ricky shook his head. Cristiano never should have said he was her boss. She wasn't going to let this go easily.  
“Hi,” Kristen shook Ronaldo's hand as well. “For the record, I don't like you, you took my best friend from me and turned her into a housewife so really, I dislike you on a cellular level.”   
“I... What?” Cristiano stared dumbfounded at the woman.  
“Don't start a fight now,” Hayley laughed at her friend and pulled her up. “I haven't partied in the last eon so let's have fun.”   
And that she did. As the night passed by, Hayley seemed more and more full of energy. She was dancing, laughing, talking all night. Conor and her seemed to get along quite well, too well judging by Ronaldo's face. The odd moments when she sat down, they were leaning over each other in order to hear through the booming music. Ricky watched the scene unfolding like he was watching the most terrifying horror film ever made. Ronaldo didn't take his eyes off the girl even for a second. After the third shot he tried to cut her off but her response was a glare. She wasn't wasted though; far from it. At 2 in the morning she still had the energy to put on a show with Kristen that pulled all the attention to them. The two women moved in sync with each other, everyone in the club watched as they danced like they were pros.  
“Damn bitch, we still have it!” Kristen laughed as they walked back to the box for another drink.  
“Hell yeah!” Hayley highfived her.  
“We should go now, we start out early tomorrow.” Ronaldo told Hayley with a straight voice. She cocked her head to the side and just watched him for a few moments.  
“He acts like your dad, actually, your dad's cooler than him,” Kristen commented with a grimace on her face.  
“I'm not going yet,” Hayley stated as she drank up another tequila.  
“You can go, bro. I'll take her back to the hotel,” Conor offered and Ricky sighed, no good, he thought.  
“She came with us, she's going to leave with us,” Ronaldo growled in response, with a straight back.  
“No, she won't. Go back to the hotel, *boss*.” Hayley waved at him as she leant against Conor's arm that rested on the back of the couch.  
“Hayley...”  
“Hayley, Hayley, Hayley.” She rolled her eyes. “Hayley, do this, Hayley, do that, Hayley, don't draw too much attention, Hayley, make something to eat, Hayley, Hayley, Hayley. Not tonight.” She crossed her arms over her chest with and glared at him. Clearly, what she'd just said was exaggaration but it was true there wasn't really any time when they did something for her, when she could do something just because she wanted to.  
“Fine. If you aren't there in time at the airport, I'll leave you here.” Ronaldo jumped from his seat and started to the exit.  
“I'll talk to him,” Ricky looked apologetically at Hayley who just shrugged. He couldn't blame her though, there was a point for everyone when they'd had enough, maybe she hit that point.

FLASHBACK END

She didn't go back to the hotel all night, instead she'd arrived to the airport with Conor. No one's said a single word since then and Ricky wondered which one of them was going to break the silence.  
“Hayley!” Cristiano called out soon before landing. Ricky glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. Being stubborn was a character flaw for both of his friends but it seemed Ronaldo managed to get over it this time what was both surprising and not so much. He knew Hayley was damn terrified of landing; taking off, flying was fine but landing, that just made her sick. Because of that they always sat together with Ronaldo so she could try and break his fingers each time.  
“I'm here, no need to yell.” She appeared at the door with crossed arms, already looking slightly pale.  
“Sit down,” Cristiano told her without looking at her. She narrowed her eyes and Ricky could tell this was also not going to be an easy ride.  
“I'm fine.” In that moment Ricky almost laughed out, the pouty face she pulled was beyond adorable, though, obviously, his friend rather found it annoying.  
“Sit down, Hayley. I don't want you to pass out.” Ronaldo shook his head, earning an eyeroll from her but she sat down.  
“You are a jerk,” she noted as she took hold of his hand.  
“Did you sleep with him?” He asked, finally, looking at her. Her face went from pale to a shade of raging red, her eyes darkened and Ricky wasn't certain why she was tightening her hold on his friend's hand; because they started landing or because this time she seriously wanted to break his fingers.  
“Fuck you!” She growled, her free hand tightening around the arm of the chair.  
“Fair enough,” Ronaldo replied, watching her close. He should just let it go, Ricky thought. If Hayley'd slept with Conor, his friend would have had no right to complain about it.  
“You know, I did, and it was great,” Hayley said on a second thought. “I felt like a woman, in God knows how long, I felt like a freaking woman, and it was wonderful, and I do not regret it for a single moment,” she explained heatedly.  
“Happy to hear my surprise turned out so well.” Ricky thought that'd be the point when Hayley would punch him in the face, he could tell the temptation was there but instead she just put on a smile, one of the fake ones he knew well and said “Indeed, thank you, boss.”  
Ricky thought things would be tensed and awkward afterwards but it was the exact opposite. As soon as they saw Ninho, they both returned to being civil and friendly towards each other as if nothing had happened. However, he knew something did happen; the perfectly built little world they pulled up for themself, where there were no complications between them because they were just friends cracked, and there was no turning back from this; soon everything was going to crumble around them, and they'd have to figure out whether they had to let go each other or find a way to work together.


	4. A Kiss, A Slap, and An Old Truth; Iker knows best

“You were right, again... Money already sent to your account,” Iker chuckled as he read Sergio's text. Of course he was right; he had a gift when it came to people, he saw through them, he knew years ago he was going to win this bet. He wasn't one to gloat but it gave him a certain type of satisfiment that he still had his game.

24 HOURS EARLIER

Hayley was watching as Ronaldo walked Sir Alex out, talking quietly. Her boss' posture seemed way more relaxed, the tension was still there what was not surprising after the events of the last two weeks but he was getting there; to calm down again. She mentally petted herself for coming up with the great idea to invite the old man over. Of course, she had to do something because the truth was, she felt terrible about what happened.

Hayley'd spent hours upon hours surfing through various news sites; all of them talking about Ronaldo's birthday party as if it was an orgy made after Sodom and Gomorrah when in reality there were more kids on that bash than adults. The whole mess happened because she insisted him keeping a party; he was 30 after all, he deserved to celebrate. Unfortunately, after losing the game against Atletico with four goals ruled out celebration, at least for the birthday boy.

Ronaldo was having a very tough time in the last couple of months. First, it turned out his on and off girlfriend -who was the second worst person on the planet according to Hayley but she wasn't the one dating the woman so she tried to mind her own business- dumped him for some wannabe rockstar. Then the team kept failing repeatedly. Last but not least there was the whole birthday fiasco. Fans, fired up by the media demanded the club to sell him, he got whistled again despite of the fact he scored a double. The club of course did nothing to defend him. All of this was taking a toll on him, she could tell easily.

He turned inside, started shutting everyone out and she hated it. They talked about a solution with Jorge, Marisa, Ricky, Miguel but there seemed to be no fix for this other than time. Dolores was worried to sick despite of Hayley's best efforts to calm her, Junior was having a hard time even though everyone tried to shield him from the shit storm, the kid could tell something was off.

So Hayley'd done what she was the best at, she'd turned into problem solving mode, and when she'd seen that the man who was like a father to her boss was only an hour away from them, she hadn't hesitated a single moment to ask for help.

“Thanks for this,” Cristiano smiled at her lightly, closed the door as he entered the house. 

“You know I can't stand your brooding,” she laughed softly with a roll of her eyes. She felt warm by his smile, it was something she missed in the last couple of days.

“I thought we could... I don't know, have a drink or something. Me a water, you a glass of wine?”

“I'm done,” Ninho said proudly as he walked out of the bathroom before Hayley could have answered.

“Sure, let's put him to bed then we can talk about it.” She nodded, thinking she could surely use a nice glass of wine and despite of her boss practicaly being abstinent he had a whole set of wonderful wine. “Are you sure you washed those teeth well?” Hayley turned to the little boy beside her with a serious expression on her face. “We don't want the toothfairy think badly of you, right?” 

“I promise I did. Look!” He grinned at her, flashing his teeth.

“Wonderful job, pumpkin',” she laughed, ruffling his hair.

“Let's get you to bed,” her boss picked up the kid, and tickled him what resulted in squeeling and screaming and some more squeeling before they reached the bed.

“Hayley has to tuck me in, you can't do it right,” Ninho complained as Cristiano tried to wrap him into the blanket.

“Yeah, you can't do it right, daddy, get out of the way,” she chuckled, playfully smacked him on the shoulder so she could sit to the bed.

Cristiano watched as Hayley tucked his son in, making sure the blanket was wrapped up at his feet, and there were no holes left anywhere so no monsters could reach him and he felt a tug in his heart. Since last summer something had changed, he'd started to see her differently. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something definitely different. He'd always been fond of her because she was good to his son, and was a great friend of him too but things in him were changing slowly. He'd started to see her more as a woman than the girl he'd hired all those years ago. She'd grown into a radiant person and he'd only just seen it now.

“Good night, little one,” she blew a kiss on Ninho's forehead, walked out and closed the door behind her.

“Seriously, Hayley, thank you for what you did today,” he said again. He was truly grateful for her, and this was certainly not the first time she'd managed to pull him out of his misery. 

“Like I said, I did it for selfish reasons,” she laughed softly, pulled the hair tie out of her hair with a sigh.

“I don't know what I'd do without you,” he said quietly, closing the distance between them. His lips brushed over hers lightly, she tasted like cherry coke and strawberry. Her mouth parted in a surprised little gasp and it drove him crazy. He could stay in that moment forever.

Hayley's head was spinning. This was not happening. She'd fallen through the rabbit hole and this was the twilight zone. Her boss was not kissing her. She felt rage washing through her veins like ice cold water and acted without thinking. Her hand landed hard on his cheek, the slap surely burned. He stared at her shocked as she took a step back.

“Don't you fucking dare to do that again!” Her voice was shaking with anger, her entire being was on fire, she felt like she could strangle him with her bare hands. “I might be your safety net...” She pointed at him. “...but I ain't gonna be your fucking rebound Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.” There were many thing things she'd do for this man, length she'd go for him but she wasn't going to be a pity fuck.

“What... I... Hayley...”

“Shut up!” She raised her voice and took a breath to calm down, not wanted Ninho to hear them. “Think about yourself and what you've just done and why you've done it. I can't believe you,” she fumed as turned on her heels and stomped to her room. What had he been thinking? That she'd be a one night stand and things would go back to how they were before? That she'd just make him feel good when he was down? He was devastated about that stupid bitch, Selma and wanted to use her. He must have even thought, he'd do good to her too; the ass.

Hayley hadn't slept a single minute during the night she was so upset but during the night she came to the conclusion that her boss was just a man like any other, and she couldn't hold grudge for too long anyway, especially not against him. Of course, she'd still give him a hard time just to make sure this wouldn't happen again. Her heart was too fragile for this, she had to realize it. It'd be way too easy to fall for him, to fall for the idea of them being a family; they practically lived like one anyway, minus the fact that they'd never slept together.

“Are you two having a fight now?” Ninho asked at the breakfast table. Both of them were quiet, avoiding even looking at each other what was a very odd thing for the kid.

“No, sweety, daddy just did something silly, he's gonna grovel a bit, and it's gonna be fine,” Hayley smiled sweetly at her boss, his eyes widening.

“What did you do?” The little boy asked with a frown between his brows.

“I... I...” Ronaldo cleared his throat nervously and Hayley sighed.

“He bought me diet chocolate.” She saved him again.

“You hate diet chocolate.” Ninho noted. She did, unless you have diabates do it or don't do it, there was no other way. “You should buy her real chocolate, dad!”  
They looked at each other, Hayley felt her face warming a bit and it was her turn to clear her throat.

“I think I've had enough chocolate for a while,” she mumbled before taking the plates. More chocolate... More kisses... More of him... Stop it, Hayley, don't be stupid, she thought to herself, shaking her head.

\-------

“What's going on, man? You're awfully quiet,” Fabio noted as they drove towards the Valdebebas.

“Nothing.” Ronaldo shrugged. What had happened last night had been a complete shock to him. He couldn't recall a single time he'd been rejected by a woman. The anger in Hayley's eyes after their kiss... For a moment he'd thought that she'd kill him. He didn't understand though. Of course, he was her boss and friend but would it have been so wrong to finally give in to what they know would happen at one point? Because he knew she felt it, too, she must have, the pull whenever they were around each other, like an electric wire.

“Come on! Don't tell me it's still about your birthday... They're gonna get over...”

“I kissed Hayley,” he blurted out with a growl. He knew Fabio wouldn't let it go. Now that he'd said it out loud, it seemed even more real, more vivid, her taste on his lips, her sigh, he wanted more.

“What?” His friend asked with an almost high pitched voice. “Head or balls?”

“Slapped me. Hard, I might add.” He mumbled. Cristiano was sulking, and he knew it was childish but he wasn't used to losing.

“God dammit,” Fabio laughed as he pulled into the parking lot.

“Not funny,” he groaned, annoyed with his friend. This wasn't a joke. How could she turn him down like that?

“We warned you she was out of your league, dude.” He shrugged, visibly amused by the whole thing as they walked into the dressing room.

“Who's out of his league?” Sergio asked, curious. A couple of the guys were already there, all of them showing great interest in the subject.

“Hayley. He kissed her,” Fabio announced, meaningfully. For a moment complete silence fell over the room.

“Head or balls?” Sergio asked finally. Cristiano narrowed his eyes as he watched his teammates practically holding their breath. What the hell was going on?

“Slap,” Fabio sighed and made a face.

“God dammit!” Sergio cursed under his breath, and low rumble of disappointment went through the group. “Can't believe he won again. Gonna send him a text. He even got the time right. Unbelievable.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ronaldo looked around, confused and annoyed that he was being left in the dark.

“We made a bet when you hired Hayley, when you would try and if she was going to go for your head or your balls,” Marcelo explained, patting him on the shoulder.

“Nice, really, guys, very nice.”

“Of course, Iker won.” Sergio added with a grimace. The man always won these.

“You couldn't think seriously you'd have a chance. She's too smart and she knows you too well.” Pepe noted with a shrug. “And the smart thing for you to do would be to let it go. You don't want to lose her.”

They were right about one thing; that he didn't want to lose her. Things should go back to how they were before, they could do it. They could forget about the stupid kiss. If she could, he could as well, no problem and it had got nothing to do with her being out of his league or any of the crap his teammates thought. It was just the case of why ruin something good.


	5. Chapter 5

Tiny little hands pressed against the glass walls and with one last painful smile I turned my back to him, a single tear falling down my cheek. This was not supposed to play out this way. I was never supposed to be stuck here for so long. How could I fool myself and think everything was alright, natural? There was nothing right about this. I was supposed to gather some money and go back to college after a year, two on the top. But things rarely ever happen how we plan, take the most adorable kid on the planet, a bornt charmer as his father and you easily find yourself in my shoes.

2 WEEKS EARLIER

I sat in front of the tv with a box of Haagen Dazs in my lap, and a bowl of homemade potato snacks besides me. My hair was pulled into a loose knot on the top of my head, my pink fluffy sucks peaked out from under the blanket, the crown on my attire was the over 6 years old worn out Real Madrid shirt. People started to appear on the bright green carpet and I put a huge spoon of ice cream into my mouth. I was supposed to be among those people by Cristiano's side. He proposed me to accompany him. First I questioned his sanity. If we'd been to show up together, not only the media but fans would have gone crazy too. He said he didn't care, and this was a great event for me to dress in that gown I always complained not having an occasion to wear at. In the end I said yes. What woman would have said no, right? In the last couple of weeks things have gone back to normal after our kiss except for a couple of minor changes. Junior spent way more time with Dolores what I found rather odd but Cris reasoned it was so he could concentrate more on getting ready for the derby against Atleti. We had dinner together every evening, many times just the two of us, and he cooked. We talked, and argued and laughed, he even watched my favourite zombie films with me, not without constant complaining of course. I felt a slight shift in our relationship but it happened so slowly, and so quietly, my own feelings blindsided me.  
Last night Cristiano came home late, with Selma on his side. I didn't want to believe he was serious. After all that woman put him through, hestill took her back when she crawled to his front door and cried that her current boytoy screwed her over. It was like a slap in the face to see her in my home again. Of course, she wanted to go to the award show, they should show the world they belong, no matter what happens, I could still hear her sickeningly sweet words in my mind. I stood there, unable to even shape a coherent sentence, my knuckles turned white, I was grabbing the kitchen island so tight. My hair was covered in all of the colours of rainbow, sparkling in a way even Edward Cullen would have been envious after Junior figured it'd be a great idea to try and turn me into a unicorn to impress the little girl he planned to marry. I smelled like onion and cabbage, wanted to surprise Cristiano with his favourite dish as a good luck for tomorrow present. I felt destroyed. I was utterly humiliated not only by him taking that whitch into our home all over again but by my own feelings as well. I was jealous, so jealous I felt like the raging emotions were going to break my bones.   
My phone's ring brought me back from the unwanted memories. I glanced at the screen and sighed softly.  
“Hey dad,” I answered the call, putting some effort trying not to sound too miserable. My dad could always tell when something was off with me, even from across the ocean.  
“Is something wrong? You sound off,” he commented, slight concern coloured his words.  
“All is fine, no worries.” I smiled softly. They said mothers had a sixth sense when it came to their kids, maybe because my father raised me alone, he developed it too.  
“I always worry when you say no worries,” he chuckled lightly.  
“Dad, I'm fine. However, there's the question why are you calling anyway? I thought you have a date with Connie.” It really would be time for the old man to confess his love and just marry the woman who he'd been dancing around for over 20 years.   
“Your man is getting that award, what do you call it...”  
“FIFA Best, dad and Cristiano is not my man,” I sighed with a shake of my head. He was old fashioned, if a woman lived with a man and his kid for years, they were a couple, end of story.   
“The boss man then,” he corrected himself and I laughed. The boss man, Cris would hate to be called that. “Why are you not there? I thought you were going too?”  
“Yeah, I changed my mind. You know I've never really been into the whole fancy dress up thing.” I wasn't about to tell my father Cristiano screwed me over. If I did, he'd be on the next plane to Spain, sending threatening messages that he would break Cris' legs.  
“I don't like this,” he stated with a hard voice and I could tell he was having a hard time believing me.  
“Yeah, dad, listen, I'm tired and you should go and dazzle your lady instead of using me as an excuse to bail on her again.” I deflected the topic, unable to deal with sharing my feelings with anyone.  
“You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?”  
“Yes, dad, I would tell you.” I sighed. “Go, enjoy your date.”  
“Alright. I will call you tomorrow. And tell that boss man of yours I said congrats for his new award.”  
“I will, dad. Have fun.” I ended the call and dropped the phone on the couch. My eyes moved back to the screen where I saw Messi and Antonella arrive. Not long and Cris would be there too, with Selma. You are pathetic, Hayley, I laughed at myself, hysteria slowly but surely sneaked up on me. What the hell was I doing? I was in my early twenties and I wasted my time on a man who used me as a rebound each time he got dumped. You worth more than this, Hayley. I switched off the tv and stared in front of myself. When did I become so sad? Things needed to change. I needed to get control back over my life. I stood from the couch with shakey legs, grabbed the laptop and headed out to the chilly October air in the yard. You can do this, Hayley I kept telling myself as I started writing my resignation.  
Next morning I woke with a start when I heard the door opening. My eyes hurt from all the crying and my back ached terribly after I passed out in the chair last night.  
“Hayley?” I rubbed my eyes, stood from the chair and went inside. “You look awful, are you okay?”  
“You are home early.” I ignored his question and headed to the kitchen to make a coffee for myself.  
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about...”  
“Me first,” I cut him off quickly. I didn't want to have a conversation about anything before I told him I was leaving.  
“Okay.” He nodded slowly and sat to the kitchen island.  
“I'm leaving,” I exhaled quickly. It wasn't that hard, was it? Just don't start sobbing now.  
“What? Is your dad okay? Is there a problem? Can I help anyway?” He asked, concern deepening the line on his face. No wonder it took me years to realize what a foolish mistake I made.  
“You don't understand, Ronaldo.” I shook my head, and closed my eyes. “I quit.” I opened my eyes and moved my gaze to him. The silence was so heavy it was almost suffocating. He stared at me with a completely blank expression on his face. “Did you hear me? I...”  
“You tell Cristianinho,” he stated with a hard voice before he jumped from his seat and disappeared into his room.

For the last days of my stay we remained civils but we hardly said more than two words to each other. There wasn't anything to say. I could have blamed him for fooling me, he could have blamed me for staying too long when I knew I'd leave eventually but what would have been the point? It seemed we had nothing left to say to each other. Even Junior turned awfully quiet after I told him about my departure.  
“It's time for me to go. They always pick me at security check.” I tried to joke with Dolores but she wasn't laughing.  
“Can't you just stay a bit longer?” Junior stared up at me with his huge puppy eyes and I needed all of my strength not to break down in tears.  
“I stayed too long as it is, buddy.” I sighed softly as I knelt down in front of him. “But you're always going to be my favourite human, and my best friend, and I'll call you everday. We will stay in touch.” I explained, but my own heart was in million pieces.  
“I don't want you to go, Hayley,” he cried, his tiny arms wrapped tight around my neck.  
“I'll always be a call away, pumpkin,” I patted a kiss on his tearsoaked cheek before I unlaced his arms from my neck and stood up. “He isn't coming home, is he?” I looked at Dolores. Maybe it was best that Cristiano wasn't here. It'd have made this even more difficult if possible.  
“I'm sorry, sweety, I don't think so,” she said quietly and I nodded. It was for the best.  
“Thank you for everything,” I told her as I stepped to her for a hug. “Cristiano, thank you for being my best friend for all these years.” I looked at Junior with a serious face. “It was an honour to be at your service.”   
“Don't go, Hayley, please.” He sobbed and I swallowed hard.  
“Just a call away, baby, never forget that.” I said him one last time before I took the handle of my suitcase and walked out of the house. This was right thing to do, I kept repeating to myself. Then why did it feel so wrong?


End file.
